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the regulations lately adopted for preventing Sunday labour in the Post Office , expressed his belief that such report would go a considerable way towards removing the evils of which the country had been complaining for some weeks . He stated his conviction , as one of the judges of the land , that the new Sabbatic restrictions had a tendency to obstruct works of necessity and mercy . Whilst the assizes were going forward , it was often of the greatest importance that communications should be made to the judges with respect to cases that were coming on ^ for trial , and with respect to cases which had been tried .
Under the system lately established , all communications of that sort were for four-and-twenty hours completely cut off . On one occasion he and Mr . Justice Williams , thinking that the postmaster might be authorized to make a dispensation from the strictness of the new regulations in favour of her Majesty ' s judges , applied for their letters at the post-office , but the postmaster refused to allow them to have any , stating that he had positive orders to deliver none whatever . He honoured that functionary for the refusal ; but a danger arose in consequence that prisoners coming on for trial might have
been deprived of evidence that might have been material for them , and prisoners who had been condemned might have been cut off from receiving the mercy to which their cases entitled them . Lord Monteagle concurred in Lord Campbell ' s opinion , and added his opinion of the cruel hardship which the Sabbatic meddling had inflicted on the poorer classes . In the House of Commons , Mr . IiABOUCHERE said that the report' upon the new Sabbatic regulations for the Post-office had been laid upon the table of the House , but he was not prepared to announce the course that the Government intended to take upon the subject .
Mr . "Wttld presented two petitions on Wednesday signed by numerous bodies of gentlemen , who , as authors or as publishers , are interested in a ready and accurate reference being afforded to the library of the British Museum . They complained of the wretched and cumbrous catalogue which is at present the only key to that magnificent collection of books ; and while abstaining from anything like personal imputation , they insisted on the ease with which ( despite of pedantic and official obstruction ) a «« Finding Catalogue " could be prepared .
Her Majesty prorogued Parliament on Thursday . As early as eleven o ' clock St . James ' s-park and the Parade in the front of the Horse-Guards were crowded with persons of all ranks , anxious to obtain a view of her Majesty in her passage to the House of Lords . Before twelve o ' clock the windows in the neighbourhood of Whitehall exhibited a gay assemblage of fashionably dressed ladies and gentlemen , anxious to testify their loyalty to the reigning Sovereign .
__ _ _ . , . The doors of the House of Lords were opened at twelve o ' clock for the admission of those who had been so fortunate as to obtain the necesary tickets , and before one almost every seat was occupied by peeresses and other ladies , whose elegant and gay attire , combined , with the gorgeousness of the edifice , presented a most magnificent and imposing spectacle . At twenty minutes before two o ' clock her Majesty , accompanied by the Prince Consort , left Buckingham
Palace in the state carriage , drawn by eight creamcoloured horses , richly caparisoned in the new state harness ( morocco ) . Her Majesty was attended by the great officers of the household , the Mistress of the Robes and Ladies in Waiting . His Royal Highness was attended by the Equerries in Waiting and officers of the Duchy of Cornwall . The guard of honour consisted of a squadron of the 2 nd Regiment of Life Guards .
Her Majesty having given her Royal assent to several public and private bills , The Lord Chancellor , kneeling , presented to her Majesty a copy of the following Speech , which she read with clearness of k intonation ^ and | distinctness of pronunciation : —
THE QUEEN'S SPEECH . " My Lords and Gentlemen , " I have the satisfaction of being able to release you from the duties of a laborious session . The assiduity and care with which you have applied yourselves to the business which required your attention , merit my cordial approbation . " The Act for the better Government of my Australian Colonies will , I trust , improve the condition of those rising communities . It will always be gratifying to me to be able to extend the advantages of representative institutions , which form the glory and happiness of my people , to colonies inhabited by men who are capable of exercising , with benefit to themselves , the privileges of freedom .
u It has afforded me great satisfaction to give my assent to the Act which you have passed for the Improvement of the Merchant Naval Service of this country . It is , I trust , calculated to promote the welfare of every class connected with this essential branch of the national interest . " The Act for the gradual Discontinuance of
Interments within the Limits of the Metropolis is in conformity with those enlightened views which have for their object the improvement of the public health . I shall watch with interest the progress of measures relating to this important subject . " I have given my cordial assent to the Act for the Extension of the Elective Franchise in Ireland . I look to the most beneficial consequences from a measure which has been framed with a view to give to my people in Ireland a fair participation in the benefits of our representative system .
" I have observed , with the greatest interest and satisfaction , the measures which have been adopted with a view to the improvement of the administration of justice in various departments , and I confidently anticipate they will be productive of much public convenience and advantage . " Gentlemen of the House of Commons ,
" The improvement of the Revenue , and the large reductions which have been made in various branches of expenditure , have tended to give to our financial condition stability and security . I am happy to find that you have been enabled to relieve my subjects from some of the burdens of taxation , without impairing the sufficiency of our resources to meet the charges imposed upon them .
" My Lords and Gentlemen , " I am encouraged to hope that the treaty between Germany and Denmark , which has been concluded at Berlin under my mediation , may lead at no distant period to the restoration of peace in the North of Europe . No endeavour shall be wanting on ray part to secure the attainment of this great blessing . " I continue to maintain the most friendly relations with foreign powers , and I trust that nothing may occur to disturb the general peace .
" I have every reason to be thankful for the loyalty and attachment of my people , and while I am studious to preserve and to improve our institutions , I rely upon the goodness of Almighty God to favour my efforts , and to guide the destinies of this nation . " The Lord Chancellor then formally prorogued the Parliament , after which her Majesty left Westminster-hall , and returned to Buckingham Palace in exactly the same order as observed upon her entrance to the House of Lords .
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THE IRISH AGRARIAN CONFERENCE . The Irish Tenant League , into which the tenant conference has merged , held its first meeting on Friday night , in the Music-hall , and presented , in its inauguration , the most imposing event to which the tenant-right movement has yet given birth . The attendance was as numerous as the dimensions of the building would admit , and embraced , besides the active members of the conference , a great number of the citizens of Dublin , who had not hitherto taken part in the agitation , and a crowded audience , among whom were several ladies . As the meeting was a public one , and as the speakers gave full vent to their feelings in speeches of considerable eloquence , it formed a suitable conclusion to the calm
deliberations of the preceding days . The number of Roman Catholic and Presbyterian clergymen who were present , and who took a prominent part in the proceedings , was very considerable . The speeches were all of the most hopeful character . The Reverend John Rogers , a Protestant clergyman , on the part of the 500 ministers of whom his church was composed , assured the meeting that their determination was to stand by the just claims of their own people , and by those of the people of universal Ireland . ' The ministers of his persuasion were resolved to accomplish the downfall of the tyrannical and truculent feudalism of Irish landlordism . " The Reverend Dr .
Kearney , a Catholic priest , thought he oould likewise promise on the part of upwards of 3000 clergymen of his persuasion , and he believed he might add that the sympathies of their bishops and prelates were with them too * The resolutions passed were to the following effect : — " That the system of rack-renting , the insecurity of the tenant's tenure , the absence of the recognition by the law of the tenant's right to the proceeds and benefits of his own labour and capital , together with the general
treatment of the occupier by the owner , have been the leading causes of those evils . " That the miserable condition to which the tenantfarmers have been reduced by the existing relations between them and their landlords having ruinously affected the position of the forming labourers of this country , reducing them to a state of the most abject poverty and social degradation , we consider it as absolutely necessary that we shall seek for them , in any legislative measure to be recommended by the League , that protection to which they arc so justly entitled , and which they so urgently require .
" That no remedy for these evils can be effectual which does not embrace the regulation of rent by a just and impartial valuation ; a legally secured occupancy to the tenant of his holding so long us he shall pay the rent fixed by said valuation ; the right of the tenant to sell his interest to the higheBt bond fide purchaser ; and the legalization of the tenant-right property of Ulster .
" That we have witnessed with feelingsof unmixed satisfaction the union of sentiment on this vitally important question between persons of all religious denominations , and from every part of Ireland , which has been most happily manifested in the unanimity which has eminently distinguished all the proceedings of the late Tenant Conference , and that we regard it as a glorious indication of certain rescue of the tenant-farmers and labouring population of our common country from their hopeless and miserable condition ; and we hereby call upon every Irishman who loves justice and humanity , and who desires the happiness and prosperity of his country , to join the Irish Tenant League which has been instituted . ^ ^ ^
" That , feeling convinced that any effort of the people , however wise , vigorous , or united , outside the walls of Parliament will be ineffectual , unless men of known honesty be selected as representatives , who will give a written pledge that they will support in and out of Parliament tenant-law , based upon and carrying into effect the principles adopted by the Irish Tenant-League ; and that they will withhold all Bupport from any Cabinet that will not advance those principles ; and that , when called upon in writing , because of any distinct departure from this pledge by one-half of those electors who voted for them , thev will immediately resign .
" That , thus justified , and having within our reach the assured elements of success , if vigorously and wisely used , we feel ourselves justified in recommending to the Irish people a general and complete organization of the entire country ; and that it shall be one of the earliest duties of the Council of the Irish Tenant-League to arrange and submit to its consideration a detailed and well-considered plan of agitation , under legal advice , having for its object to bring into operation all the powers and all the energies which the law and constitution have placed in their hands for the attainment of the declared objects of the League .
" That , as adequate funds , ascertained by some fixed standard , and certain in amount , will be indispensable for carrying out the objects of the League , we recommend for the adoption of the country a general and voluntary assessment on the Poor-law valuation , of such an amount and under such regulations as the Council of the League may hereafter recommend , taking into consideration the circumstances of each locality , and the raising thereby , at as early a period as is considered practicable and convenient , a sum of £ 10 , 000 in the first instance . " One of the northern delegates , in the Nation of Saturday last , gives a dashing sketch of the Conference , from , which we borrow a passage or two .
" Under the chair is a long desk for the secretaries , with three as pleasant faces behind it as any in the conference . One of them , a young handsome fellow of Saxon temperament , one would say , and of some two or three and twenty years , is Mr . William Girdwood , of Lurgan , in the county Armagh , gentleman solicitor , one of the northern deputies to London . The next is the Reverend William Dobbin , of Anaghlone , whom it was said they would bring to the bar of the Lords some months since for heresy anent " the sacred rights of property . " Now , no one would suspect Mr . Dobbin of schism even , he looks so mild , and smiles so blandly , whenever he rises to the meeting , and particularly when
he does allude to the rights aforesaid , as he takes occasion to do pretty frequently—feeling a strong necessity to speak the flattest heresy in the most seraphic spirit possible . Mr . Dobbin is about thirty years of age . But who is this stalwart agrarian reformer alongside of him —Gracchus in a soutane—with a fist to fell oxen—and a voice to put the fear of God into a rack-renter , if anything could ? That , Sir , is Father Tom O'Shea , of 0 * 1-lan . Just as much as M'Knight ' s name typifies > , 'Jie Ulster Tenant Right , Father O'Shea ' s does the southern movement that has grown so amazingly within the last nine months . About six years ago , under the shadow of Walker ' s Column , in the virgin City of Ulster , the
doctor , with some half-dozen others , established the Ulster Association . It is another name for the province now . Last December , as well as I remember , Father O'Shea and his coadjutor , Father O'Keefe , founded the Callan Tenant Protection Society , round which the whole southern farmers have since gathered . And the conference means , in the main , the alliance of those great forces . Whoever is skilled in drawing conclusions from such tangible premises , may augur awkward results to the landlords , if they do not capitulate in time . " And now , looking right down to the end of the table , passing a dozen or so very white Presbyterian cravats , and about the same number of ecclesiastical rabbaa
agreeably interspersed , and noticing among the laymen the massive head , and portly , Yorkshire look , of Frederick Lucas ( who is discussing the principles of valuation in the most affectionate way possible , with sundry shining lights of the kirk ) , there , beside Mr . C . G . Duffy , you may observe a tall and remarkably handsome young man , with nothing of the cleric very observable in his aspect , but rather a subdued military dash in air and apparel—a lieutenant of Volunteers in mufti , one might fancy . But that , Sir , is the Reverend David Bell , of Ballibay ; and , i' faith , I could almost swallow the Westminster Confession , to be of his
congregation . He has you fairly taken by storm before he speaks a word , there is something so frank and openalmost boyishly so—in his face . But when he does speak , you recognise a real orator . It is my impression •—take it for what it is worth—that , except Thomas Meagher , there is no man born in Ireland this generation who has so much true , native eloquence in him . And although , to use his own words lately , he always ' sticks to his text' when speaking , still there are occasional indications of an undercurrent of deeper disaffection than what he bears to . the . landlords . I marked him talk about representatives with quite an ' 82 accent ; and in , ( v little , appropriate allusion that he made to ' the
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Aug . 17 , 1850 . ] & %$ ¦ & »*>»<» * 483 __ a « a a ^ k ¦ B
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 17, 1850, page 483, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1850/page/3/
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